Day 6 & 7: One-Month No-Groceries Challenge

Another day, another date but does that mean diet derailed?

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By Karen Borsari

Oh boy, you heard me lamenting that my fridge was no emptier at the end of week one than when I started the one-month no-groceries challenge right? Well, I promised myself week two would be better but so far it’s a no-go. It’s Restaurant Week here in New York City and it’s really throwing off my plan. Plus, a large Sunday dinner with my family sent me home with lots of leftovers to start the week.

Breakfast on Monday was an apple I brought from my parents house with peanut butter—I won’t say what kind of PB, it wasn’t good! That only carried me through mid-morning when I ate half an Earnest Eats Choco Peanut Butter Whole Food Bar. As you now know, I was testing all sorts of products for National Peanut Butter Day (which was yesterday) so my hands were a little tied. With only one day left for testing I had to load up on peanut buttery goodness.

Mom sent me back with plenty of salad and a few slices of pork tenderloin so I had some of that for lunch.

For dinner I headed out on a date to One if By Land, Two if By Sea. Because it’s restaurant week you automatically get three courses, which can be a lot of food! I had cauliflower soup with an amazing slice of focaccia bread, braised short ribs, and a caramel popcorn and bacon ice cream sundae. I surprisingly, wasn’t stuffed and brought almost half of my entrée home.

Tuesday was a similar story. Breakfast ended up being one and a half peanut butter energy bars from three different brands—that taste test left me with a bit of a sugar shock! Needless to say those bars didn’t make the cut.

Lunch was basically the same as the previous day with the addition of three chocolate truffles a coworker decided to share. Dinner was similar as well. Another day, another date! We split amazing spicy Brussels sprouts with honey and sesame seeds as an appetizer. For my entrée I had cod with curried spinach and mushrooms and shockingly, I finished the whole thing! For dessert we split a slice of gooey butter cake with ice cream.

So far this week I have used NOTHING from my fridge and have actually added a few items both from eating out and from the leftovers my parents sent me home with. But I am happy to report that after eating out two nights in a row I’m feeling good and haven’t overdone it which is an accomplishment on it’s own!

How are you doing with the challenge and how are you handling social eating? Clearly this is where I’m struggling!

As an editor at SHAPE I have the chance to learn about the healthiest ways to cook, eat, and live from all sorts of experts but I’m also a single girl living in NYC with a busy schedule, active social life, and chocolate cravings. I’m here to share what works for me—and where I need a little help from you.